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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27148831">Rainy dreams</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCurrator/pseuds/TheCurrator'>TheCurrator</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Inazuma Eleven</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Prostitution, Hakusen, Illness, M/M, ONE character death, Poverty, Rain dream tower by Hitoshizuku-P, Songfic, Sumizome, The warning, There's other characters as well, They're doing it for money but that doesn't mean they like it, Tho I won't say where they're from, Unrequited Love, so just to be safe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 22:20:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,010</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27148831</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCurrator/pseuds/TheCurrator</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The childish memories of long ago.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Unrequited Afuro Terumi/Gouenji Shuuya, Unrequited Herafu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Rainy dreams</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> What illusive words they are<br/>
"I'll come for you... so please wait for me."<br/>
Even as time passes and the seasons cycle by, I still<br/>
Wait, believing in them </em>
</p><p>The words were spoken softly, huskily, carried to him by the summer breeze. It's quiet after, but not silent. The wind scatters trimmed off leaves, sending them rustling across the paved path, a sparrow by the nearby tree chuns sharply. His friend replied, pleading and desperate.</p><p>The rain beats down onto the rooftops, the heavy sounds of impact making him melancholic. He cradles a cup of warm milk in his lap, staring at the nearby tree, now left leafless and bare. The milk is sweet and soft, reminding him of a certain someone. A dull ache settles at the bottom of his heart and he scrunches up his face, trying to scowl away the pain.</p><p>"Are you thinking of him again?"</p><p>"Go away," he snaps, vulnerable and raw with heartache. Hakusen scampers away, not even angry with him.</p><p>
  <em> Wearing tattered kimono under the dancing snow, drifting down from the night sky<br/>
Two penniless, lonely orphans huddled<br/>
Shivering shoulder to shoulder </em>
</p><p>"What now?" the younger one chokes out shakily, eyes watering with tears.</p><p>He reaches out to brush off the snow gathered by the other's messy hair, keeping quiet for now. At his action, Afuro hastily wiped off his tears, his still relatively pudgy arms sticking out from his kimono's sleeves, golden roses imprinted by the end of the sleeves.</p><p>"I'll take care of you," he murmurs, stroking the blonde hair into place.</p><p>"Wa-what?" the other blinks up at him. "I couldn't hear you."</p><p>
  <em> Their eyes that shone when they laughed<br/>
Darkened when they grieved<br/>
Reflected each other's hurts when they made a promise to survive </em>
</p><p>A tired woman ushered them into the shelter, one hand on Afuro's back. Another man came forward, gently tucking two blankets into his hands.</p><p>"It's really cold right now, huh? You both could use this," he stared at the man, into his deep green eyes, reminding him of the lushly bushes that the gardener would tend to in Afuro's backyard.</p><p>The man kept smiling, his eyes shadowed with a sadness Hera didn't understand back then, and then he walked away.</p><p>"Blanket," Afuro tugged away the thicker blanket, curling it against his chest with a pout.</p><p>"There's soup being served by the end of the hall," the woman pointed to the far end, where he could see a queue in front of what seemed to be a food station.</p><p>"You both can stay for a few weeks," the woman had the same sad look in the man's eyes and he'd wondered what they had done to upset her.</p><p>Afuro nodded, told the woman he would find her again, and dragged him off toward the soup station. </p><p>The smell was thick and enticing. He found himself drooling a little at the familiar smell of miso soup. Afuro sped up, near running with him being dragged along.</p><p>He tugged away and Afuro whipped around sharply, eyes wide with surprise and a little annoyance. He spread out the blanket and draped it over Afuro's shoulders, stifling the younger's mild shivers. Afuro paused for a moment, tugging the blanket over him more with a cute purse of his lips. His hand was grabbed and he was dragged towards the station again, the smell growing stronger and the people's faces now visible to him.</p><p>They were assigned to a shared bed, able to fit them in as they were tiny and he was scrawny. Afuro wrapped himself in his blanket, rolled up the way a burrito would be wrapped. He draped his blanket over them both, content with his belly no longer aching for food. Afuro ducked into his chest, nuzzling into his kimono and they both drifted off.</p><p>
  <em> Courtesan flowers invite you into the night<br/>
Like butterflies dancing in sweet honey </em>
</p><p>The clock struck nine. It was time.</p><p>The others slowly filtered out, not wanting to leave. It had to be done.</p><p>Hera gently took hold of his wrist, pulling him closer and pressing a kiss to his hair. He giggles, coyly tugging away and winking before walking off to work. He hears the other's footsteps, soft against the floorboards, deep and grounded, as he kept him.</p><p>He waits by the room, kneeling against the floor, tensely peering around. The door slides open and he looks up with a provocative smile.</p><p><em> As they flutter their beautiful kimono<br/>
Ravage them, make them blossom<br/>
For they will become flowers brighter than anyone else, mesmerizing all who see </em> </p><p>His own sounds seemed surreal and far away, as if they were from another person. This isn't the first time he's done it, with all these grunting men above him, but it didn't scare him any less. Lust could make them unpredictable some times, dangerous kinks and behaviours rising to the surface past their relatively polite facade. </p><p>He had been choked once, rough hands suddenly seizing his neck in a brutal grip, cutting off his airway and out of instinct, he had clawed at the older man's arms, which only made him squeeze tighter. After their session, his neck had bruised badly and his supervisor had blended concealer onto his neck to hide them. </p><p>Hera had noticed before that and had fumed to their manager, trying to bring up their rights and consenting conditions, despite him trying to reassure Hera into letting it go. The manager had laughed and thrown him a wad of cash, telling them both to keep quiet. In an attempt to cheer up his friend, he treated the other to ice cream with his new money, though the other had eaten it with an ugly scowl.</p><p>
  <em> Aah, what illusive words they are<br/>
"Let's be together, forever and ever" </em>
</p><p>"I'm scared," he sobbed into Hera's shoulder, clutching onto the other's kimono, the colour of the rolling waves of the sea.</p><p>"I won't leave you," the other whispered, and since he was so close, he heard it this time.</p><p>"Really?"</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>
  <em> Even as the seasons cycle by and we grow up, can I<br/>
Still believe in them? </em>
</p><p>He rocked back and forth, eyes closed with joy as the hot and prickly taste of spicy kimchi took hold of his mouth. Not looking up from his plate, Hera dumped some more onto his. In return, he shifted more steamed egg onto the other's plate.</p><p>Nearby them, Sumizome and Hakusen fought for the last shrimp ball. Not for long as Hakusen simply let the other have it.</p><p>Kikuno chuckled, shifting one of his two shrimp balls to Hakusen's plate.</p><p>
  <em> On that day, everything was set into motion<br/>
With that promise dyed in sunset's light<br/>
So I wouldn't ever notice my lonely heart<br/>
I drowned myself in a never-ending dream </em>
</p><p>"Then...Let's be together. Forever," he smiled shyly, nuzzling into Hera's shoulder.</p><p>"And after. And always," The other shifted his head, looking up to watch the sunset, barely visible past the grey clouds.</p><p>"Is it beautiful?" he asked.</p><p>"Not as much as you," Hera grinned and his cheeks flushed.</p><p>
  <em> In a city stained in dusk's hue, I fell into a secret love<br/>
With no way to even communicate my feelings, I could only watch from afar </em>
</p><p>"I made you something," Afuro smiled playfully, hiding something behind his back.</p><p>"Show me then," he smirks up at the other.</p><p>Afuro shook his head. "You'll have to get it from me."</p><p>"Must I?"</p><p>Afuro nodded.</p><p>He jumped to his feet and lunged for the present, wrapping his arms around Afuro's slender frame and clawing at the rather small box the other was holding. Afuro laughed, the twinkling sound echoing around the hallway.</p><p>Afuro let him grab it and stepped back as he lifted the lid. Inside was a temari ball, made from blue and orange cloth, a tiny bell jingling from the inside.</p><p>"Do you like it?" Afuro asked, rocking on his feet from side to side.</p><p>He stared at the temari for a little longer. "Ye-Yeah."</p><p>He looked up at the other and smiled. "It's great. Thank you."</p><p>
  <em> The flower that laughed before those kindly smiling eyes<br/>
Her quietly budding love beat a loud throb<br/>
Before it crumbled </em>
</p><p>He had been looking for Afuro, thinking of calling him to dinner. He stopped, frowning as he recognized the crown of blonde hair pinned up with three large peonies, alongside what seemed to be one of the customers.</p><p>He frowned harder. The customers left after they've got what they wanted. Usually, that was the case.</p><p>He got a little closer to listen. Not that he meant to pry, he was just worried.</p><p>The man spoke softly, a deep voice whispering foreign words that he couldn't comprehend. Afuro drank it all in with pleasure, beaming with a flushed face and shifting like a lovesick schoolgirl. He knew, not needing to look at all. The excited gasps from his friend were enough of a tell.</p><p>
  <em> Loving and being loved are nightly tunes
Fantasies in the dark, void of colour </em>
</p><p>"What's your name?" he asked, eyeing his client for the night. It wasn't one of his regulars, the new man taking him in as well interestedly.</p><p>"Gouenji Shuuya."</p><p>He tilts his head, noting the man's hair to be a lovely platinum blonde.</p><p>"And what shall I call you?"</p><p>"Whatever you want, as long as it's cute."</p><p>"Anything you don't want me to call you?"</p><p>"..Lay off the daddy and baby names. I find them awkward."</p><p>He nods, bowing a little. "Understood."</p><p>Then he stands, wrapping the kimono around him tighter. </p><p>"Now," he smiles, "shall we began?"</p><p>
  <em> If this "being loved" will bring me so called "happiness"<br/>
Then I </em>
</p><p>He probably looks stupid. But still, he can't stop shuffling around with a goofy grin on his face, twirling a lock of hair between his fingers with a dark blush across his cheeks. </p><p>Gouenji smiles and keeps talking, suggesting bringing him to his home, where he could meet the man's younger sister.</p><p>"Her name is Yuuka," Gouenji says, a proud glint in his eyes. "I'm sure she'll love you."</p><p>He giggles. "She sounds lovely."</p><p>  <em> Then you<br/>
Should be happier than anyone else in the world </em>

</p><p>"What is love, Hera?" he asks, staring at the ceiling.</p><p>"Why are you asking such questions? I won't humour you," came the reply, cold and curt.</p><p>He rolled over to face the other, throwing on a pout. It didn't last long, soon replaced by a dreamy smile.</p><p>"So mean," he playfully taunts.</p><p>Hera doesn't look up at him, head bowed low in a way that made him look depressed.</p><p>
  <em> What illusive words they are<br/>
"I'll come for you...So please, wait for me." </em>
</p><p>The words were spoken softly, huskily, carried to him by the summer breeze. It's quiet after, but not silent. The wind scatters trimmed off leaves, sending them rustling across the paved path, a sparrow by the nearby tree chuns sharply.</p><p>He freezes by the wall he's hiding behind, heart lurching to his throat.</p><p>The concept wasn't foreign to him. Rich merchants and nobles waltzed in and promised a desperate prostitute freedom.</p><p>"I'll give you a better job."</p><p>"I'll buy you out of here."</p><p>"I can marry you."</p><p>Out of the 27 women and 10 men working for a living in Pearl tower, only one has gotten out. And that was by escaping during a shopping trip, never to be seen again.</p><p>He had seen her just before she had boarded a ship with the money given to her for groceries. She had stared at him with pleading eyes before she was ushered on board. He kept standing by the dock, watching with disbelief but unable to run forward. The ship had started sailing and his shoulders and head had dropped. Before her face faded from sight, he had lifted his hand and waved her good luck. With what seemed to be sparkling diamonds merging into the sea, she had waved back.</p><p>
  <em> Everytime you uttered the phrase
"I'm in love"<br/>
You confirmed your worth </em>
</p><p>"I think I'm in love," the other whispered, almost as if he was uncertain.</p><p><em> Me too, </em> he thought sadly.</p><p>"Who is it?"</p><p>Afuro's eyes glazed over. "There was this customer..."</p><p>"What's he like?" he stares up at the ceiling, lightly rubbing his temari.</p><p>Afuro blushed, smiling goofily. "He's very kind. He seems to love his family really well. He told me about his sister."</p><p>"Does he like you back?" he turned to look at the other.</p><p>"He bought me dinner," Afuro teared up, "I think he does."</p><p>So that's why Afuro hadn't come to eat that night.</p><p>
  <em> "But, if so, then why don't you<br/>
Whisk me away this very moment?" </em>
</p><p>He replied, pleading and desperate. Gouenji shook his head, a sorry look on his face.</p><p>"I have business overseas. I can't do it now."</p><p>Gouenji then looked at him, right into his eyes and he was enraptured by the alluring orbs of obsidian. "Can you wait?"</p><p>He paused, trying to think quickly. Something nagged him at the back of his mind, a childish memory of long ago.</p><p>"Yes," he smiles at the man of dark, sharp eyes. "Of course."</p><p>A small smile cracked the cold surface of Gouenji's face and he was pulled into a tender hug. He grabbed and bunched up the back of Gouenji's yukata, but he thinks the other doesn't mind.</p><p>
  <em> Disappearing with the dawn, that empty corpse that was once artificial love<br/>
If only it were all a dream, I would have been able to keep from crying </em>
</p><p>He hid away by the gardens, cooling tears rolling down his arms and being soaked up into his sleeves. Lanterns illuminated the doorway nearby and he could see the potted roses to his left, humble and boastful at the same time. They were all a vibrant shade of crimson, though they looked almost orange under the warm glow.</p><p>It wasn't that late yet, but late enough for no one else to be strolling by his hiding spot, the others either playing games within the walls or relaxing into their shared rooms.</p><p>He looked up to the tower, wondering if he should just escape like that girl had done, waving the money given to her with a smile as she told Hakusen she might buy him some strawberries. It had only stung more when she hadn't returned with anything at all. He had talked to Hera about it, asking what had happened as he was also shopping with her. Hera told him he hadn't known, saying he'd gone off to another aisle and lost track of her.</p><p>Speaking of Hera, the older one was right there, standing by the open hallways at the outside of the tower, peering down at him with what looked to be a mix of pity and rage.</p><p>Guilt seizing his heart, he looked back at the roses, trying not to give his emotions away.</p><p>
  <em> "I will wait for you forever" </em>
</p><p>Gouenji smiled, his dark eyes brightening up a little. "That's it. I'll be back before you know it."</p><p>He grinned wider. "Is that so?"</p><p>Gouenji leaned forward and their lips were pressed into a soft kiss, a lingering promise.</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>
  <em> That promise we made in the night<br/>
Vanished along with the illusive flower </em>
</p><p>A busted light illuminates their room, flashing occasionally. Afuro's skin is a sheen of unhealthy pale, highlighting the burst of redness on his nose and the dark shadows under his eyes.</p><p>"I'm sorry," a voice called out, raspy and apologetic.</p><p>"What for?"</p><p>"The trouble," Afuro rasped, coughing as he placed a wet cloth over the other's forehead.</p><p>'It's fine," he mumbles, turning away.</p><p>
  <em> Do you remember that promise we made that sunset long ago?<br/>
"Let’s walk together, side by side." </em>
</p><p>"I'm sorry," Afuro says again.</p><p>"What for?" he asks patiently.</p><p>"I'm leaving you."</p><p>"It's not your fault," he says, washing the cloth in cold water.</p><p>"It's not the illness."</p><p>"Then what is it?"</p><p> <em> Perhaps, one day </em></p><p>"The customer..."</p><p>"That you're in love with."</p><p>"He promised to buy me out of here."</p><p>"And how's that holding up?" he asks bitterly, a stab of guilt at his heart.</p><p>"He's got some family business right now," Afuro's voice is softer, his breaths coming out in sighs.</p><p>'Yeah. Are you hungry?"</p><p>Afuro hums in reply. "Can I have some porridge?"</p><p>
  <em> Aah, they disappeared like illusions<br/>
Both the pitiful, sweet flower and the first love </em>
</p><p>Kikuno lays a hand on his shoulder. Hakusen tries to stop sobbing next to him. Sumizome kneels by the floor, head bowed down and lips pressed into a trembling frown.</p><p>His mind holds off the anger and sorrow, shutting them off for now. He stares at the portrait of Afuro Terumi, smiling calmly, hair pinned up with a scarlet hairpin. When the wall breaks down, so will he.</p><p>But for now, all he knows is that he can't mourn Afuro on his funeral.</p><p>Yet no one critisiced him for it.</p><p>
  <em> Even as the seasons cycle by and I grow up<br/>
Only this never-healing scar remains, left behind </em>
</p><p>Hakusen slinks up to him later on, poking his back cautiously.</p><p>"What?" he drawls tiredly.</p><p>Hakusen shifts into his line of vision, blocking out the tree. "You've been lying here for two hours."</p><p>"So?"</p><p>"I'm worried about you."</p><p>"That's nice," he says, staring off into space.</p><p>"Kikuno-san and Sumizome too."</p><p>He hums disinterestedly. "It won't affect my work."</p><p>"It's not about work," the other exclaims, face darkening and eyebrows furrowed.</p><p>
  <em> Now, I – alone, all alone by myself<br/>
Continue waiting without any end in sight<br/>
For the unfulfilled promise of that summer sunset </em>
</p><p>He hums again, burying his face into his sleeve, ignoring Hakusen.</p><p>The younger pouts and shakes him.</p><p>"Go away."</p><p>Haku shakes his head, frowning determinedly. "I won't."</p><p>
  <em> If everything, that oath we swore in the sunset<br/>
Were all a dream… </em>
</p><p>"What do you want me to do?!" he sits up abruptly, staring right into Hakusen's eyes.</p><p>Hakusen jumps, meeting his gaze shakily.</p><p>A gust of wind blows by and no answer is carried to him this time.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Third story in a row with unrequited love. Whew.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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